


Sanctuaries

by NoSleepUntilVacation



Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Genre: Character Study, Free Verse, Gen, Philosophy, Poetry, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 11:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSleepUntilVacation/pseuds/NoSleepUntilVacation
Summary: There are lessons to be learned from each of the eight sanctuaries.





	Sanctuaries

**Author's Note:**

> So I just remembered that this thing I wrote was on my hard drive, and I thought I should share it with everyone.

Remember when we were small children, smaller than we are now? Grown-ups seemed so big; we all dreamed of being as big as they were one day. When you're a grown-up, no one can make you eat your vegetables, go to bed early, or do your homework before you can play; at least, that's what it feels like when you're a kid. We would have our chance to follow in their footsteps, but we had some growing to do for the time being.

We still may not be grown-ups yet, but we've definitely grown since those early days. There are already children who are much younger than us, who are just learning to walk and run and make their own memories. We've been through experiences that they'll never fully understand; in the future, they'll go through experiences that we'll never fully understand. We'll give the next generation the tools they need to shape their destinies; after all, we were all there once.

To get this far, we drank from the milk of life. Milk: whether it's natural or made through a formula, it's the first thing everybody drinks in their lives. It's what enables us to grow from dependent babies into older, more independent people. Even as we grow teeth and learn how to eat other foods, whether they're good-for-your-health foods like boiled eggs and rice gruel or good-for-your-soul foods like hamburgers and cookies, we must remember that we all had to start somewhere.

They say that in every life, a little rain must fall. But as you grow up, you learn that rain isn't always a bad thing. Sure, when you're a kid, rain isn't usually fun at all; you might have to stay indoors because the grown-ups say it's too wet to play outside, and even if they do let you play, you have to wear rain gear, and you might not even be allowed to splash in the puddles because you could ruin your clothes and/or get sick (even though, for a kid, a lot of the fun of rainy days comes from splashing in the puddles). And yet, when you grow up, you start appreciating rain more. It could be because it helps cool the atmosphere after a heat wave, or it could be because rain is a soothing sound to listen to, especially when you're safe indoors. But the biggest reason of all is that, as an adult, you know that rain is water, and water is life. Even though many animals, humans included, owe their initial survival to milk, pretty much every creature on the planet owes its continued survival to water. Plants need water to grow, and animals eat the plants. Mammals came from the water of the womb, other animals came from the water inside eggs, and fish need water so they can breathe. Farmers, too, rely on water so that, through their crops, they may feed themselves and others; it's their very livelihood. These are the things you don't realize as a little kid, but once you grow up, you learn to see the good in what seems bad.

The science of magnets works thusly: like repels like, and opposites attract. While the four of us aren't entirely opposites, we all came from different backgrounds. Between us, there's a boy who loves baseball, has magic powers, and often misses his mom; a sweet, very feminine girl who is one of the strongest magic users out of all of us; a boy who doesn't know any magic spells, but more than makes up for it with his intellect and resourcefulness; and a prince who is also a prolific mage, and who always feels strongest with the equipment made just for him. Even among the magic users in our group, things aren't the same; only the prince can use the fabled Starstorm, only the baseball-loving boy can use this other, more mysterious spell (he calls it PSI Rockin), we all have varying types of support magic (whether shields or healing), and even though the girl is the only one who can't teleport, she is by far the best of us at using Fire and Freeze spells. In spite of all our differences, we all get along well as we look towards our goal of making the future a safe place to live; we all hope that, when we grow up, we don't fall into the trap of wishing poorly on others just for not agreeing with everything we believe.

As you start growing older, people are going to tell you that you have to start working hard as much as possible. Some people may even say that you're just wasting time if you're not doing anything productive. While hard work is a very important part of anyone's life, everyone needs some time to just take a break and imagine things. Sometimes you may be working at something for hours without a solution, and it's only when you put things down and turn your mind off of overdrive that the answer comes to you. It could be through meditation, or it could be through simply looking up at the sky and seeing what the clouds look like, but if you let your mind breathe, then your mind will let you breathe.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if no one ever lied? What if people could only say what was on their minds, or there was no difference between what we thought and what we said? If all those thoughts were broadcast to the world, unfiltered? Many people would probably be terrified; hiding is a natural part of life for many, for various reasons. Some people lie with malicious intent, absolutely, but some people lie because they want to spare someone else's feelings, or because they're worried for their own safety. A lot of times, people even lie to themselves, trying to convince themselves that nothing is wrong instead of facing the problems head-on. Even if you're lying to protect someone (whether yourself or someone else), it's important to be honest with at least one person, or else your emotions will eat you from the inside. The four of us won't honestly say that we weren't scared; all of us were, deep down, but we faced our fears and overcame the darkness that threatened to destroy life as we know it. Someone once said that bravery isn't simply "not being scared"; it's "being scared but persevering anyway". Sometimes, just admitting that you're scared is a very brave thing to do.

Initially, the four of us came together more by circumstance than choice. However, as we've traveled across countries and continents, met all sorts of people who would help us on our quest, and faced all manner of obstacles from the mundane to the supernatural, we've only become closer. We found an ancient treasure in a pyramid, helped a band overcome their debts, fought real dinosaurs, explored the mysteries of Stonehenge, and even traveled through time. And it was because we made friends with so many along the way - from the gang leader in Onett to the Mr. Saturns in their village - that we were able to stand tall against evil itself in the end. We're going to disagree with each other about things in the future - because honestly, what relationship isn't like that? - but if there's one thing we all know for sure, it's that by now, our friendship has become an eternal flame, and it won't die out anytime soon.


End file.
